Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Down to $44.09

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.09, but opened at $42.97. Alcoa shares last traded at $42.36, with a volume of 799,986 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AA. Bank of America raised their target price on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alcoa from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.50 to $36.50 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. B. Riley lifted their price target on Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.54.

Alcoa Trading Down 3.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 8.51% and a negative net margin of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. Alcoa’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alcoa Co. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -10.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alcoa news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $814,685.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Alcoa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,658,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the third quarter worth $39,557,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth $45,730,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $146,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 202.2% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,491,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,399,000 after purchasing an additional 997,912 shares in the last quarter.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.